Kolkata
may have its sophisticated restaurants and food plazas but many of the
Calcasians (people who are hooked by Kolkata, residing or not residing
there) are still devoted to her mobile food stalls. They might be shabby
looking and often are complained to be unhygienic. Especially the mobile
stalls that gathered around the gate of schools during

Tiffin
time or when the school gets over. Many of us remained so hooked to them
that not even our guardians but some times we ourselves had a suspicion
that whether these things are drugged or not. On this list supreme
importance can be claimed by "fuchka". Small puffed crisp wheat balls
stuffed with a mixture of boiled potato, boiled gram and roasted spices
and filled with sour water of tamarind. Fuchka has its origin in Venaras,
where pudina and roasted red chili powder is a special addition. One can
find the same thing with a difference in the stuffing in Panipuri of Mumbai,
Golgappa

of
Delhi and Gupchup of Jharkhand. Fuchka can also be found in five star
restaurants of Kolkata but those are a compromise in flavour for sophistication.One
can find other varieties of fhuchka like "Dahi-fhuchka"

or
"Alu fhuchka" with yogurt
or "alur dom" inside served in Sal leaf bowl or the leaf itself shaped
in a cone. Even after that the taste from one fhuckawala fhuchka vendor
to other varies for the mixture in spices and obviously the mixing. With
fhuchka comes "churmur". It is a mixture of potato slices, gram and crushed
phuchkas with spices and tamarind water sometimes with a pinch of coriander
or lime over it. Another item can be found from these people are "alukabli".
It has the same ingredients that of churmur with an addition of raw onion
(sometimes) less the crushes fhuchkas. Most tasty you will find these
items when licking the residue in the Sal leaf.

Next in
the queue comes "telebhaja" (fried in oil).Though every fried
item is obviously fried in oil no one knew why only these variety is called
so. Here the ingredients are sliced into thin pieces or boiled and smashed
and then put into a batter of chickpea flour and then deep-

fried in
mustard oil. The spices used in the batter or during marinating vegetables
is a secret. The most popular ones are "alur chop" (chop of potato),"
beguni" (brinjal fry), "piyaji" (chop of onion), "fhuluri" (chop
of chickpea flour) and" dal bora"(chop of pulses like tuoor).There
are other varieties of telebhaja most of which are now more or less extinct
due to rise in price of the ingredients. Some familiar ones are "Mochar
chop" (banana flour chop), "dhoka" (pasted pulses), "fhulkopir bora"
(cauliflour chop), "dolma" (stuffed vegetables), and "chingrir cutlet"
(prawn cutlet). "Kalika" of central Kolkata still serves many
of these items still now.

No one
can forget "jhalmuri" or "masalamuri" vendors of Kolkata. Carrying a tin
box with a multiple of partition and numerable raw materials stuffed in
them they travel from one part to another. The perfect blending of spices
and nuts and sometimes some kind of indigenous sauces to marinate the
puffed rice is an art itself. Generally the softened varieties are
Maharastrian in origin with sauces and potato or cucumber slices and the
ones with more crunchy items and are termed velpuries or batata puries. The
Bengali variety does not contain any moistening agent. It is a pure blending
of puffed rice, nuts, mustard oil, coconut and uncrushed spices except,
sometimes with onion and green chili. Mainly the mentioned variety of
puffed rice are found in the Bihari bhujua shops, who prepare muri on
sand stirring it occasionally with the other side of the fresh broomstick.
The rice is puffed not using urea.

Other
things available there are soaked and boiled gram, thatched rice, popped
rice and a numerous variety of gram, peas and other lentils, and groundnut
roasted or fried and even spiced besides the pickles. Besides there were
some Bengali shops where along with it chops are also prepared.

Other important
persons are the "Ghugniwala". Ghugni is a preparation of gram or pea seeds
cooked in spices. It can be both vegetarian and nonvegetarian in its preparation.
Here too the crowd gathers for the tastier variety that depends on the
blending of spices and the way of cooking. There is not one formula for
its preparation and here lies the secret of taste.
Among sweet delicacies most prominent item is the "malai borof" or "kulphi".
The item was found still on the roadside vendors in earthen pot inside
which the moulds are kept, a substitution of freezer. Many of these persons
also sell flavoured coloured water.

On hot
and humid days sharbat or cold drinks of pudina (mint) and akh (sugarcane)
are sold. Vendors selling these nectars in earthen pots called "bhar"
or in glasses can be found even today.
Besides there are the indigenous smaller versions of cotton candy or candy
floss known popularly as Burir chul (the hair of old lady).

Still popular
among the school goers are the pickle vendors whose pickles are different
from the Bengali varieties that are sun dried in oil and spices. Dried
spicy plum, plum pickle, dried spicy green mango, or spiced tamarind pickles
when served with a blending of different salts, specially a black salt
called "kalonun" or sometimes "current" (as when touched on the tip
of the tongue it delivers a shock like tremor on the sense

organs)
gives a pleasure to the senses. Raw mango, or amra, or kamranga are served
here with their specific salt and spices blend with tamarind juice
in their respective season. Sometimes amsatta of a black and too sour
variety is also found. If you want you can also get a blending of their
salt and spices. The black salt is often sold separately in small bottles.
Other common stalls are of roasted groundnuts. Roasted or boiled salted
gram and peas are also available in these stalls. Sprout gram and peas
mixed with boiled potato, sliced tomato sprinkled with lemon juice and
beet salt are also found in street corners of Kolkata.

The other mobile vendor is the "chanachurwala". Sometimes called ghotigaram
as the chanachur is roasted with chopped onion and raw mango or amra and
sprinkle of blended salts in a ghoti (a specific shaped pot). Due
to invasion of sophisticated variety of hamburger or pizza shops or cake
shops along with more indigenous variety of roll centers and chat centers
of greater India these stalls are facing a threat. Many are leaving their
traditional business due to price rise in ingredients and change in taste
of the customers. They are shifting to comparatively profitable business.
Others are compromising in quality and quantity and further loosing customers.
Many of the mentioned items are rare in today's Kolkata and some are an
extinct species.
But lets hope out tongue can patronize the existing ones and even help
the extinct ones to reincarnate in near future. So stay mobile, say mobile.